Trash or Treasure Thursday

C.H.U.D. (1984)

Acquired at: HMV
Cost: $6.99

Actually the first time I saw C.H.U.D. was on T.V. awhile back. All I remembered about it was that I liked it. So I was excited when I found it in the cheap bin at HMV for $6.99.

C.H.U.D. stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. They're humans who were mutated into monsters by toxic waste and live underground, feasting on the homeless. When they run out of people to eat underground, they're forced to surface through manholes to get their fix. A cop (Christopher Curry) investigating the disappearances of C.H.U.D.'s victims, a soup kitchen worker (Daniel Stern) who wants to know what happened to his clientele, and a photographer (John Heard) working on a project taking pictures of the homeless, get to the bottom of what is really going on.

I watched this DVD as soon as I got it home, and it was just as good as I remembered. It's genuinely creepy, especially the shower scene. I even jumped a couple of times when the C.H.U.D. grabbed people. It was really effective how they mostly only showed its claws or pointy teeth or glowing eyes. The mystery makes them even creepier.

The plot is interesting and not that far-fetched. We don't know what toxic waste can do to people. It probably can't turn people into cannibalistic monsters, but you never know. There's a subplot about the photographer's girlfriend being pregnant which drags at times. And a lot of the film focuses on a government cover-up, which slows down the story. The acting is great, not at all what you would expect from an 80's B horror movie. John Heard and Daniel Stern also star together in another movie I love, Home Alone.

I give C.H.U.D. a 4/5, making it a treasure.

Rating: 4/5